Nicolas Dontas is a senior partner at Dontas Law Offices, a leading IP law firm. Consistently ranked as a top-class IP practitioner since 2005, Mr Dontas has been involved in high-profile IP litigation that has shaped the development of Greek IP law. He is widely known for his extensive efforts to protect famous brands against dilution and various types of unauthorised use. Among his major achievements are a series of Supreme Court decisions broadening the scope of protection of well-known trademarks in both opposition and civil injunction proceedings. His litigation practice includes representation before the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market Board of Appeals and the General Court.

Mr Dontas graduated with first-class honours from the University of Athens Law School and was awarded a merit in his LLM from the London School of Economics. He has been a member of the Athens Bar since 1988 and a Supreme Court lawyer since 1995. He is fluent in English and French.

He has written and lectured widely on IP matters. His published work includes “Derniers développements du droit communautaire sur les appellations d’origine et les indications géographiques”, Revue de Jurisprudence de Droits des Affaires, Paris 1993; European Community Trademark: Scope of Protection, Kluwer 1994; the Greek chapter of the Guide to European Trademark Law and Litigation, Sweet & Maxwell 1998; “EU Struggles with Comparative Ads”, IP Worldwide, September 1999; and the chapter on permitted use under international law in Trademarks at the Limit, Edward Elgar 2006.

His lectures include “Trademarks Under the Treaty of Rome”, International Trademark Association (INTA) New York Forum on the Community Trademark (February 1996); “How to Use the Trademarks of Others: The Situation in the European Union”, INTA Annual Meeting, San Diego (May 1996); “Greek Anti-counterfeiting Procedures and Practice”, International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition Fall 1998 Conference, Los Angeles; “The European Communities Comparative Advertising Directive”, INTA Amsterdam Forum on Comparative Advertising (October 1997); and “Descriptiveness as Absolute Ground of Refusal”, INTA Annual Meeting, Washington DC (May 2002).